DENVER — Home to Red Rocks Amphitheater and other great outdoor music venues, the Denver metro area long has been known for having a vibrant music scene.
And it’s only going to get better thanks to support from the Denver City Council, according to organizers of a massive, multiday music festival.
The council approved the festival Monday evening in a 10-3 vote.
After several years of promoters trying to bring the multistage event to Denver, their hard work looks like it will become a reality.
The 18-hole Overland Golf Course off South Santa Fe Drive and West Florida Avenue is set to look much different in September 2018.
The festival is expected to draw as many as 120,000 people over three days. The setup process, event and cleanup will require the course to be off-limits to the public for roughly five weeks after Labor Day.
Supporters, anxious to attend concerts at the festival, were thrilled as the council voted Monday. Some of the golf course’s neighbors are skeptical.
“There will be a lot of trash,” one neighbor said during a public feedback session months ago. “There’ll be crime.”
The City and County of Denver stands to make $200,000 a year in rental fees. Depending on attendance, Denver also could make an additional $420,000 through ticket sales.
Organizers have agreed to pay $90,000 for landscaping to repair any damage from the event.
David Ehrlich, helping to organize the festival with Superfly, said the event will be a “celebration of Denver.”
“We’re going to work very, very hard with all the local musicians and all the local bands,” Ehrlich said. “This is going to be a platform for them.”
Some council members expressed concerns over increased traffic and mass transit capacity during the meeting.
Organizers promised they are working on a transit plan to move people in and out of the event smoothly.